After decades in business, serial entrepreneur, Jeff Annis discovered that profit sharing is one of the keys to employee retention.
On Wednesday, Annis, founder of Advanced Services Pest Control, spoke to a group of real estate agents, loan officers, and home services professionals at this month’s CSRA Home Connections meeting.
He said some of his long-term employees have told him they had considered leaving the company, but changed their minds when he began offering the lucrative profit-sharing incentive, which for most employees, meant they earned between 14 and 18 percent more money.
“That was the biggest change we made,” Annis, pictured above, said. “After three years, our profits doubled.”
He began giving all employees monthly profit/loss statements, which allowed them to track the company’s revenue and expenses. Annis said his employees worked harder to ensure higher profits.
He said the most successful businesses put too much trust in their employees, and the least successful ones complain about them and blame them for everything that goes wrong.
Annis also said business owners often prioritize their employees’ and customers’ needs over their own.
“Business owners are bad at self-accountability,” he said. “They don’t have empathy for themselves.”
Rey Burgos, owner of Trimmendous Lawn Care, a local landscaping company, can relate. Burgos said he often focuses so much attention on creating opportunities for his employees that he doesn’t always create them for himself.
“The thing I struggle with is trying to create better profits for myself,” Burgos said. “We tend to forget why we’re in business.”
Annis said, at times, he thought he would’ve been better off as a teacher like his wife, Beth, than as a small business owner, because teachers receive a salary, as well as insurance and retirement benefits.
“You’ll be better off than 95 percent of small business owners,” Annis said.
He and Beth have been successful and give generously. For example, in January 2022, they donated $500,000 to the Community Foundation for the CSRA, which serves to connect philanthropists with various charitable causes.
